Cheshire East Council is proposing to increase the charges for parking in their off-street car parks from early next year.
The Council has conducted a review of its current arrangements and as a result it is proposing an increase in parking charges of either 10p or 20p to each tariff in its pay and display car parks.
Additionally they are proposing to remove parking incentives including 'Free after 3pm' which was in operation in Spring Street car park but seems to have already been removed.
If implemented the charges for parking in Wilmslow car parks would go up 10p in Broadway Meadow (to 60p for one hour and £1.10 for two hours), Wilmslow Leisure Centre (to £1.10 for up to 3 hours), Spring Street (to 80p for one hour and £1.20 for two hours), The Carrs (to 30p for one hour and 60p for two to three hours) and The Rex and South Drive (to 70p for one hour and £1.10 for two hours).
A report prepared for next week's Environment and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting states "Parking charges have, in the main, not changed over the last 10 years or so. If charges had increased by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since 2007 the income to the Council would be £1,209,438 higher in 2016/17."
It is estimated that annual income from pay and display parking would be increased by about £220,000 per annum if the proposed parking increases are approved.
The report continues "The overall purpose of this proposal to amend parking charges is to ensure that the Council can continue to provide suitable, adequate, safe and well maintained parking provision."
Approval for the proposals will be sought from Cabinet on October 10th, if approved all the proposals would be subject to a public consultation from mid December to mid January with a view to implementing them in February 2018.
Comments
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When the council increased our tax by 3.99% last time - http://bit.ly/2wZsj7L - an increase the the parking charges was explicitly excluded from the plan. I suggested then that this was simply a ruse to enable them to be increased later in the financial year when some further hole in the finances was discovered.
To be fair, the financial situation of any council, including ours, is always precarious.
This increase was always going to happen, in January it was an option under consideration but "not currently put forward for implementation".
How is this helping bring people into Wilmslow ?? or encourage local businesses ??
Sends out a great message before XMAS for local business doesnt it ??
If its not Lyme Green its Double Yellow lines... Absolutely Pathetic... but to be expected from the myopic entity of CEC... No wonder it has been referred to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to be put into Special Measures. I think some should be put in public Stocks .. and that would be worth paying for.
This council hemorrhages cash on its inane projects, always considering themselves before their electorate and the very town they should be supporting. Shameful.!
No?
Tick, tock...
Still, I'm sure our local Conservative councillors at Cheshire East will convey our thoughts and resist this.
Like they did with the Local Plan.
Oh wait a minute...
A suggestion - how about more residential roads being made "Access Only" (to residents) or
"Residents Only" zones. Of course this will mean the council having to provide proper & enough All Day car parks or demand that all employers with over, say, 8 staff to provide its own parking or pay to go on car parks? How about Park & Ride? I know of a couple of sites where the exctra income would be gratefully received but this rotten borough will say "We cannot afford for the Ride element? Funny, but it prefers to screw the residents and waste our money on over inflated salaries to third rate senior officers. Are these thoughts too much to ask both the council & employers? If so, why pray tell us council?
If they are still short of revenue, they could supplement the revenues by penalising those who habitually park on the double yellow lines at the entrance to the Waitrose delivery area.